Metallic ski



Marh 19, 1968 A. J. G. BAUDOUV 3,374,001

METALLIC SKI Filed Sept. 10, 1965 FIG. 2

United States Patent Ofifice 3,374,001 METALLIC SKI Antoine Joseph Georges Baudou, Les Eglisottes, Gironde, France Filed Sept. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 486,268 Claims priority, application France, Aug. 12, 1965, 28,225, Patent 1,459,879 11 Claims. (Cl. 230--11.13)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A ski comprising an elongated metallic upper plate, a channel member having laterally projecting flanges having their longitudinal edge portions secured to and registering with the longitudinal edge portions of said upper plate. The channel member has a bottom divided by a longitudinal corrugation which extends upwardly to the level of said flanges, an elongated metallic lower plate spaced from said upper plate by said channel member and is provided with a shallow groove seated in said corrugation. The upper plate is secured along its longitudinal edge portions to said flanges and centrally to said corrugation, while the lower plate is fixed to the bottom of said channel member, the space between said flanges and above said bottom plate being filled with a moldable material.

Skis are already known which comprise solid or hollow metal reinforcing members embedded in a plastic sheath, which may :be made of a laminated plastic having a polyester and fibreglass base, as described in US. Patent No. 3,132,874.

The reinforcing members of such skis may comprise upper and lower plates connected by metallic cross members provided with a certain number of longitudinal ribs.

The lateral edges of the upper plate may be :bent outwardly to project through the plastic sheath and form the upper corners of the ski.

The present invention, on the contrary, relates to a ski in which the metallic member is not embedded in a plastic sheath, but which comprises only a pair of plastic inserts extending along its sides.

The ski in question is characterized by the fact that the upper metallic plate is substantially flat, with its edges serving as the upper corners of the ski.

On the other hand, the metallic cross member is channel-shaped, with its upper edges splayed horizontally outward, while its bottom is formed with a single central corrugation which projects upwardly to the level of the upper edges of the channel member.

This cross member is adhesively secured to the upper plate and may be riveted thereto along its splayed upper edges and along the top of the corrugation.

The lower plate is a plain piece of sheet metal, which is flat except for a shallow groove registering with and seated in the longitudinal corrugation in the channel member. The upper surface of the lower plate is adhesively secured to the entire bottom surface of the channel member, on both sides of the corrugation.

The metallic reinforcing member is preferably made of a light alloy, and is inserted in a mold together with lower corner members which are preferably made of steel. A moldable material is then introduced, filling the space on each side of the ski, between the upper horizontal edge of the cross member and the lower corners, so as to form the vertical sides of the ski. A suitable gliding surface may be glued to the lower plate between the lower corners.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, three embodiments thereof will now be described, purely by way of example, without limiting the scope 3,374,001 Patented Mar. 19, 196 8 of the invention to the details thereof, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of the ski;

FIG. 2 is a transverse section taken along the line IIII of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are corresponding transverse sections through two alternative embodiments of the invention.

The ski shown on FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises an upper plate 1, preferably of an aluminum alloy, for example the one sold under the trademark Zycral. This upper plate is absolutely flat and may be covered by a thin protective layer. The two charnfered edges 3 of this plate constitute the upper corners of the ski.

A channel-shaped connecting member 4 is attached to the bottom of the upper plate, as shown in FIG. 2. The upper sides 5 of this channel member extend horizontally outward. The bottom 6 of the channel member is formed with a longitudinal corrugation 7, the horizontal upper surface 8 of which is level with the upper edges 5.

This arrangement makes it easy to attach the connecting member 4 and upper plate 1 together along the horizontal surfaces 5 and 8, either by gluing (with an epoxy resin, for example) 01- by riveting, or both, since both faces of the members to be connected are readily accessible, so that the two processes may be carried out simultaneously. The members may also be secured to each other by resistance welding.

The reinforcing member is completed by adding a lower plate 9, of the same metal as the upper plate, and consisting of a plain sheet provided with a shallow central groove 10, which corresponds to the conventional central groove present in all skis, and which is seated in the corrugation 7 as clearly shown in FIG. 2.

The lower plate 9 contacts the bottom 6 of the channel member on all or part of the surface thereof on both sides of the corrugation 7, so that it may be tightly glued to the channel member.

The composite reinforcing member made in this way is positioned, along with lower corner members 12, in an injection or compression mold, so that a plastic or resilient moldable material, or a mixture of such materials which may or may not be fibre-reinforced, may fill the spaces along each side of the ski, between the upper flanges 5 of the connecting member and the lower corner members 12.

This produces a vertical outer wall 11a which corresponds to the vertical wall of the mold. The plastic material introduced at the sides may also flow at 11b between the lower metallic plate 9 and the gliding plate 13, which is made of a conventional plastic material, so as to connect these two members, and coat the thin inner edge 14 of the corner members 12, which it also adhesivcly secures. The glide plate 13 may also be adhesively secured in a separate mold, after the sides 11 have been formed in a first mold.

The ski is conventionally shaped as shown in FIG. 1, and its upper and lower plates 1 and 9 are curved slightly toward each other at the front and rear ends 15 and 16 of the ski.

Due to its box-beam construction the ski is extremely light, even though quite strong, and has an excellent flexibility, since the only parts which work during the flexing are made of metal having a low damping power. Its strength is increased by the size of those surfaces which are connected to each other. The ski is easily manufactured because the process requires only simple stamping, l luing, rivetin or soldering, and molding steps which do not require the use of skilled labor.

In an alternative embodiment the lower plate 9 made of a light alloy and the corner members 12, may be replaced by a single steel plate 17, the edges 18 of which serve as the corners. The gliding plate 13 is simply glued beneath the plate 17 and the side pieces are molded independently without being connected to each other.

It is also possible, as shown in FIGURE 4, to provide as before a steel plate 17 having edges 18 which constitute the corners, but without adding any gliding plate. In this case, the ski slides directly on the lower face of the steel plate 17, which may be provided with a suitable smooth wear-resistant sliding surface.

It is especially advantageous to make use of such materials as polyurethan rubber which may be injected at very low pressures and which combines both exceptional hardness and resistance to bending and abrasion with excellentsliding characteristics on all types of snow.

This material may be used to form the side members 11 and the glide plate 13, or the side members, glide plate and protective layer 2, simultaneously on the reinforcing member and the steel corners, or to form the glide plate 13, the lower corner members 12 and the protective layer 2 on the reinforcing member alone.

What is claimed is:

1. A ski comprising an elongated metallic upper plate, a channel member having laterally projecting flanges having their longitudinal edge portions secured to and registering with the longitudinal edge portions of said upper plate, and channel member having a bottom divided by a longitudinal corrugation which extends upwardly to the level of said flanges, an elongated metallic lower plate spaced from said upper plate by said channel member and provided with a shallow groove seated in said corrugation, said upper plate being secured along its longitudinal edge portions to said flanges and centrally to said corrugation, While the lower plate is fixed to the bottom of said channel member, the space beneath said flanges and above said bottom plate being filled with a moldable material.

2. A ski as claimed in claim 1 in which the upper plate is adhesively secured to said channel member.

3. A ski as claimed in claim 1 in which the upper plate is rivetted to said channel member.

4. A ski as claimed in claim 1 in which the upper plate is both rivetted and adhesively secured to said channel member.

'5. A ski as claimed in claim 1 in which the upper plate is spot welded to said channel member.

6. A ski as claimed in claim 1 comprising a plastic glide plate below said lower metallic plate and steel corner members extending along the lateral edges of said glide plate and spaced from said lower metallic plate.

7. A ski as claimed in claim 1 in which said lower metallic plate is made of steel and its lateral edges project laterally beyond said channel bottom to form the lower corners of said ski.

8. A ski as claimed in claim 7 comprising a plastic glide plate attached to the bottom of said lower metallic plate.

9. A ski as claimed in claim 7 in which the lower surface of said lower metallic plate constitutes the surface on which said ski glides.

10. A ski as claimed in claim 1 comprising a glide plate attached to the bottom of said lower metallic plate, both the material forming said glide plate and said moldable material being polyurethan rubber.

11. A ski as claimed in claim 1 comprising a glide plate attached to the bottom of said lower metallic plate, the edges of said glide plate serving as the lower corners of said ski, and both the material forming said glide plate and said moldable material being polyurethan rubber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,805,182 9/1957 Hallenbeck. 2,928,456 3/1960 'Potchen et al. 3,074,732 1/1963 Riha 2801 1.13 3,132,874 5/1964 Baudou 28011.13 3,134,604 5/1964 Aublinger 28 0l1.l3 3,145,998 8/1964 Holmberg et a1. 280-11.13

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,380,663 10/1964 France.

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner.

MILTON L. SMITH, Examiner. 

